Santa Barbara Pulls Away From Dos Pueblos For 77-44 Victory on Senior Day

Senior Day brought the best out of Santa Barbara High guard Carter Battle, who flashed his diverse skill set on both ends of the court in the Dons’ 77-44 victory over Dos Pueblos.

All 18 Santa Barbara players got into the game and ten Santa Barbara players reached the scoring column as the Dons celebrated their 14 seniors and extended their winning streak to seven games. 

“Everybody played hard when they went in and I knew they would. We are a talented team all the way through. It’s just that you can’t have a rotation of 18 guys,” said Santa Barbara coach Greg Zuffelato. “The guys that don’t get time showed that when they get in they can play.”

Dos Pueblos came out strong and put up a good fight, especially in the first quarter and took a 17-15 lead early in the second quarter on a three-pointer by Evan Pinsker. 

However, Santa Barbara closed the first half on a 19-2 run to take a 34-19 lead into the locker room at halftime and cruised to victory. Senior standout Luke Zuffelto scored 12 of his 18 points in the decisive second quarter.

“We just had to shorten the game in our minds. A team like that, you see them go on runs of 7-10 points, and we can’t have that,” said Dos Pueblos coach Joe Zamora. “The guys bought into our game plan.”

Battle made his presence felt with 15 second half points turning defense to offense on several occasions and knocking down three three-pointers.

“I came into this game with the mindset of just playing as hard as I can. I wasn’t really worried about scoring a lot, I just wanted to have a lot of energy to pick up my team,” Battle said. “I knew that it was going to be a big environment and a lot of noise so I just thought if I bring energy I can contribute in any way possible.”

Diesel Lowe has been a revelation in his one season playing for Santa Barbara after transferring from St. Joseph of Santa Maria. He has been one of the best players in the Channel League this season and chipped in eight points against Dos Pueblos.

Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos will continue Channel League play on Wednesday. The Dons host Oxnard while the Chargers are home against San Marcos.